Mahindra Thar Pros & Cons

Check out pros and cons about the Mahindra Thar that are worth highlighting for a potential buyer. Here are some of the highlights of the benefits of buying the Mahindra Thar. We'll also list out the Thar drawbacks to help you make an informed buying decision.

Thar Advantanges

• Solid 4-star Global-NCAP Safety Rating

  The Mahindra Thar comes with a reassuring 4-star adult occupancy safety rating by Global NCAP. The Thar scored 12.52 points out of 17 in adult protection and 41.11 points out of 49 in child protection. Despite having a body-on-frame architecture, the Thar managed to get a stable bodyshell integrity rating from Global NCAP as well.

• Minor Price Gap Between Petrol And Diesel Engines

  The diesel engine of the Mahindra Thar only commands a premium of Rs. 21,000 to Rs. 31,000 over the corresponding petrol variants. On the performance front, the petrol engine of the Thar produces more power than diesel, at 150PS against the diesel’s 130PS.

• Superior Driveability With The Petrol Engine

  The 2.0L turbo petrol engine of the Mahindra Thar produces more power and torque than the diesel engine. In addition to that, its petrol engine produces its torque from as low as 1250rpm, giving it an advantage over the diesel engine, which generates its torque from 1600rpm.

• Classy Looks With Capable Hardware

  The Mahindra Thar stands out of the crowd thanks to its traditional SUV design. While the design may remind some of the Jeep Wrangler, it doesn’t fail to turn heads on the road. In addition to that, the Mahindra Thar comes with a diverse range of powertrain options, with 4-wheel-drive standard across all variants. Mahindra offer the Thar with petrol and diesel engine with both manual and automatic transmission options. On the other hand, its arch rival, the Force Gurkha, only gets a diesel-manual powertrain.

• Compact Design With Easy Ingress For The Rear Seats

  The Mahindra Thar measures under 4-metres and goes up against the likes of the Kia Sonet and Tata Nexon in terms of price. However, it is wider than the aforementioned sub-4m SUVs. Thanks to the width, the Thar feels very confident while off-road and the wider track certainly helps. The Thar also offers a surprisingly easy ingress to the rear seats for a 2-door SUV.

• Strikes A Balance Between Comfort And Off Road Prowess

  The Thar comes with a good set of features like touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, cruise control, steering mounted controls, roof-mounted speakers and airbags. All these features do not impede the off road performance of the Thar. It even offers segment-best approach, departure and break-over angles.

Thar Disadvantanges

• Prices Have Gone Up Drastically

  When Mahindra launched the new-gen Thar, it was already quite expensive over its predecessor. However, soon after the launch, Mahindra removed the 6-seater variants to score the 4-star NCAP safety rating. The removal of the base variants made the starting price of the Thar even more expensive. To make things worse, Mahindra also hiked the prices of the Thar across all variants.

• Convertible Top Creates Sound Buffeting

  Mahindra offer the Thar convertible top with a manually-foldable fabric roof. On the highways, the fabric creates a lot of sound buffeting, which could be irritating over longer distances. We would have liked it if Mahindra had offered a hard-top convertible option.

• Automatic Transmission Carry A Steep Premium

  The automatic transmission options in the Mahindra Thar carry a premium of Rs. 1.50 lakh over the corresponding manual transmission variants.

• No Affordable Variant For The Masses

  While the Mahindra Thar is a true blue off-road vehicle, not every Mahindra Thar owner wants it for its off-road credentials. Many people use the Mahindra Thar for the daily commute and weekend drives. On that front, a 2-wheel-drive drivetrain with a brake-locking-differential would serve the needs of such buyers perfectly. In addition to that, the option of a smaller 1.5L turbo petrol engine will make the Thar a lot more accessible to the masses.